When Israel went into Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah sent them a letter. They were no doubt disappointed. They faced tough days. God wanted them to know something very important: God’s plan rules. Even though they did not know the plan, even though they were disappointed, even though they were being told something much different by the culture around them, God still ruled.

Disappointment.

This morning my middle son and I, along with a bus load of others, were to begin a much-anticipated trip to Israel. This past weekend, we had to cancel the trip. On Monday of this week, the rest of the group had to cancel when the Israeli government said all people flying into Israel either had to have a private home where they could self-quarantine for fourteen days or the visitors would be turned back at the border. This meant that the rest of our group would be turned back. Therefore, none of us left today on what for many would be a trip of a lifetime!

Disappointments happen. In your life right now there may be many types and kinds of disappointments. Financial. Vocational. Relational. The list could go on and on.

How do we trust God in the midst of disappointment?

Trusting God’s Plan

When Israel went into Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah sent them a letter. They were no doubt disappointed. They faced tough days. God wanted them to know something very important: God’s plan rules. Even though they did not know the plan, even though they were disappointed, even though they were being told something much different by the culture around them, God still ruled. Jeremiah wrote:

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

In other words, God said, “For I know what I have planned for you.” The individual people did not know, but God did. God knew what was part of His plan. He told them in the verses just prior to these, live life even in the midst of disappointment as normal as possible and let God work through His plan in the midst of it.

God gave a similar promise to Israel through Isaiah while in captivity. He said:

³ You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
⁴ Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength. (Isaiah 26:3-4)

God promises to His people again to take care of them, protect them, and provide for them. Their responsibility simply was to trust Him.

Today, God is equally in charge. His plan still rules. We do not know all the particulars of our circumstances, just as they did not know all the particulars in theirs. However, God rules. You can trust Him even in the midst of disappointment.

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